PUTRAJAYA should beef up Covid-19 prevention measures at international entry points to prevent a new outbreak in the country, health experts said. 

With China reopening its borders on January 8, the experts were of the view that stricter border measures, coupled with increasing booster shots, would be the best way to protect Malaysians from another spike in cases. 

Universiti Putra Malaysia’s public health expert in epidemiology and biostatistics Associate Professor Dr Malina Osman said Malaysia should follow the footsteps of some countries in imposing stricter restrictions on inbound travellers, like needing to show a negative result for Covid-19 or requiring them to do a test upon arrival. 

“I prefer that we follow the measures taken by some other countries (to mandate a negative test report or have a test upon arrival). 

“This is on top of the screening process to ensure that one entering the country is free from infection,” Dr Malina told The Malaysian Insight. 

Taking into account the possible influx of cases as travel picked up, the Health Ministry announced that it would be strengthening its preparedness to deal with the situation.  

The ministry said all visitors entering Malaysia would undergo a temperature screening for fever. 

Those who were found to have a fever or who declared themselves as having one, would be sent to a quarantine centre for further checks. 

Additionally, those who had been to China within the last 14 days of their arrival in the country would need to take an RTK-Antigen test. 

Besides this, sewage water samples from aircraft arriving from China would be sent to the National Public Health Laboratory for testing, and subsequently sent for genome sequencing if detected positive for Covid-19. 

Despite the precautions proposed by the Health Ministry, Dr Malina said it would still be better for Malaysia to impose a mandatory negative Covid-19 test result or a Covid-19 test upon arrival for inbound travellers. 

“Basically, it is not practical to block the entrance of tourists, especially the Chinese nationals. 

“So, maybe we can follow what the United States, Italy, India and some other countries are doing to ensure passengers are negative before they are allowed into the country,” she added. 

Dr Malina said she was concerned about not only China’s recent surge in cases but also its mortality rates. 

With the lack of credible data from the country, epidemiologists have said that they must rely on informal data for information. 

“We do not know the actual data but through informal data, which was reported recently, it estimated there are 9,000 deaths per day in China. 

“Now, this is really concerning if it is true,” she said. 

Recently, a United Kingdom-based health data firm predicted that around 9,000 people were estimated to be dying in China every day from Covid since the nation of 1.4 billion decided to scrap its zero-Covid policy.

It is estimated that Malaysia will receive an average of 1,286 China arrivals daily this week.

The Malaysian Medical Association yesterday urged travellers coming to Malaysia from China to get tested first for Covid-19.  

Its president Dr Muruga Raj Rajathurai urged the Health Ministry to take the necessary precautions to prevent a surge in cases. 

Get boosted 

Former deputy health minister Dr Lee Boon Chye said the new variant would eventually spread irrespective of whether Chinese tourists enter the country. 

“Omicron is unstoppable. It is highly infectious. It will spread eventually and all of us will be exposed to it.

“Locking out Chinese tourists will not prevent this. Even a national lockdown and closing the borders may not be enough as we can see in China during the period of zero-Covid policy.”

He believes Malaysia’s good vaccine coverage would aid the situation, basically preventing a surge in cases despite opening international borders in April last year. 

“Since opening borders in April 2022, during which most of us would have been exposed to the virus, which is mainly Omicron, there has been no surge in hospitalisation and mortality over the past nine months,” he said. 

Dr Lee urged Malaysians, especially those with impaired immunity to get their booster vaccine shots to stay protected. 

He also urged the ministry to conduct regular surveillance for variants of concern. 

“Make sure all vulnerable populations, immunocompromised especially, receive the second booster dose. 

“Also do regular surveillance for variants of concern and make sure the healthcare facilities are well-prepared for a potential surge, if any,” the former Gopeng MP said. 

Dr Malina also concurred with Dr Lee on the need for vaccine boosters. 

With emerging new variants and uncertainties, she urged Malaysians to get boosted. 

“Facing uncertainties from what is happening in China, I think we should not waste time waiting. 

“Everyone should get vaccinated or boosted as soon as possible,” she said, adding that the elderly, those at higher risk, and those with comorbidities should be prioritised. 

Dr Malina said that vaccination had proven to reduce the number of daily cases as well as deaths and hospitalisation. 

Furthermore, she also urged Malaysians to practice a healthy lifestyle. 

“Eat healthy, quit smoking; those with comorbidities should do a proper and timely follow-up and take their medication. 

“If all of this can be done, then it should protect us,” she said. – January 5, 2023.